Rain Valdez (born 1981) is an American actress, writer, and producer who rose to prominence with her award-winning short film, ''Ryans''. She stars in the web series ''Razor Tongue'', which she created and which has earned her a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

nomination in Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. Valdez got her start playing Coco in season 2 of

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...

's '' Lopez''. She consulted on ''

Transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

'' and starred in the show's fourth season. She has written for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' and '' Popsugar''.

Early life

Valdez was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and was raised by her mother and stepfather in

Dededo Dededo ( ch, Dedidu; formerly in Spanish: , in Japanese: , ''Dededo'') is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is loca ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. She began writing poems and short stories as a

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

student. She attended Simon Sanchez High School in

Yigo Yigo, Guam ( ch, Yigu; pronounced ) is the northernmost village of the United States territory of Guam, and is the location of Andersen Air Force Base. The municipality of Yigo is the largest village on the island in terms of area. It contains a nu ...

before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 2000, waiting tables and modeling to support herself while studying acting.

Career

Valdez began her career as a producer's assistant in 2006. In 2010, she wrote and starred in her first short, ''Silly Games''. In 2017, she wrote and starred in her breakthrough short film, ''Ryans'', which premiered at

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

and was given the Jury Award for Best

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

Short. The same year, she was cast in

's ''Lopez'', with a recurring role. Also in 2017, Valdez was cast for

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

's ''Transparent''. In 2019, Valdez created ''Razor Tongue'', an indie episodic romantic comedy, and co-starring such actors as

Alexandra Grey Alexandra Grey (born January 4, 1991), also known by her stage name Alexa Grey is an American actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her roles as Melody Barnes on the Fox music drama series ''Empire'' (2015–2020), E ...

, Sterling Jones, Sarah Parlow, Carmen Scott, and Shaan Dasani. In 2020, Valdez appeared as a commentator in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

documentary ''Disclosure'' alongside actors

Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBT advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Pri ...

Jen Richards Jen Richards is a transgender American writer, actress, producer and activist. Life and career Richards was born in Mississippi and resides in North Carolina. She graduated from Shimer College with a BA in Philosophy, and studied at Oxford Unive ...

Zeke Smith Roger Duane "Zeke" Smith (September 29, 1936 – July 22, 2016) was an American football player in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. He played college football at Auburn University where he was awarde ...

, Leo Sheng,

Alexandra Billings Alexandra Scott Billings (born March 28, 1962) is an American actress, teacher, and singer. Billings is the second openly transgender woman to have played a transgender character on television, which she did in the 2005 made-for-TV movie '' Romy ...

, and others. In July 2020, she was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her work on ''Razor Tongue''. In October 2020, she co-starred in the short film ''

The Great Artist ''The Great Artist'' is a 2020 American short drama film directed by Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri and written and produced by Sunny Vachher and Matthew Postlethwaite. Starring Matthew Postlethwaite, the rest of the cast includes Marimar Vega, Rain V ...

'', which qualified for the Best Live Action Short Film shortlist for the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

Activism

Valdez has been a featured speaker at conferences such as

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

's The Festival of the New, and WrapWomen's BE Conference.

Personal life

Valdez is a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

. She initially began her career closeted, eventually deciding to live as an openly trans individual, with her stint on ''

'' as her first role as an openly trans woman.

Podcasts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Rain 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American women screenwriters American television writers People from Manila American television actresses Filipino LGBT actors Guamanian LGBT people LGBT film producers Transgender actresses Transgender women Transgender rights activists American LGBT rights activists American LGBT actors 1981 births Living people American LGBT people of Asian descent